PANAJI
Sudhir Sangwan, personal assistant to BJP leader Sonali Phogat was on Thursday granted bail in connection with the offense of possessing a variable quantity of drugs at a party in Anjuna where Phogat was drugged last August.
The drug was seized from the flush tank of the toilet at Curlies shack at the instance of the accused and the forensic test ascertained the contraband was “Methamphetamine” weighing 2.20 grams.
Additional Sessions Judge Cholu Gauns while granting bail to the accused in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case observed that since the recovery was made four days after it was hidden in the flush tank, it is a matter of common knowledge that toilets in shacks are accessible to all guests who come for parties or otherwise for food, liquor, etc. “The recovery of contraband from the toilet flush tank cannot be said to be in the exclusive possession of the accused. This factor also helps him to get bail,” reads the order as the Judge directs his release on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of like amount among other set of conditions.
In a similar bail application filed by Sukhwinder Singh, second accused in the case, Sessions Judge Sherin Paul, North Goa rejected his plea stating that the man is also accused of forcing two other women to consume the drug-laced drink at the party. The two accused with whom Phogat travelled to Goa are also charged with her murder.
“The charge sheet filed in the murder case states the applicant was responsible for giving drugs/psychotropic substances to one lady (Sonali Phogat) which resulted in her death because of the fact that even after the lady was found in a condition wherein she was unable to walk and had lost consciousness, she was not given medical attention. The records in that case also indicate that the applicant was forcing the two other ladies, namely Vanya and Angela who were in the company of the applicant (Singh) to consume this psychotropic substance and thus putting them at risk of getting addicted to such contraband,” Paul observed in her order on March 2.
Hence, she said, even though the substance said to have been in his possession was a variable quantity, the Court noted that he was still not entitled to bail as it led to one.
The CBI has kept the investigation open, although over a 1,000 pages chargesheet was filed within three months of the offense last year. The 60-odd pages of forensic report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Chandigarh ascertained Phogat was drugged.
